USF Health said it would move forward with its planned heart institute, after the Hillsborough County Commission joined the state in providing funding for the project.

Hillsborough County approved $2 million to help support equipment and space for the facility, in addition to the $6.9 million in state funding to support the initial design of the new institute, according to a statement from USF Health.

USF Health has committed nearly $25 million in resources for genomics-based personalized medicine, including funding of research equipment and facilities, and recruited two physicians: Dr. Leslie Miller, chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, and Dr. Steve Liggett, a researcher who will become director of the Personalized Medicine Institute.

The American College of Cardiology has selected the USF Health Heart Institute as a partner to conduct the first trial linking genomic screening with a clinical database of millions of patients with cardiovascular disease. USF Health also will partner with the Florida Hospital Pepin Heart Institute on research and clinical trials.